The ED has claimed to have recovered over Rs 50 crore in cash and jewelry from properties of Arpita Mukherjee in multiple raids.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started the process of freezing at least three bank accounts of Arpita Mukherjee, the close aide of suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee, where ED has found at least Rs 2 crore, said a senior ED official on Saturday.
The officer added that bank accounts belonging to several "shell companies" of Mukherjee are also under ED scanner.
The officer said, "The process of freezing Mukherjee's three bank accounts has started. A total of around Rs 2 crore has been found in these accounts. We suspect these accounts were used to carry out several transactions and further probe is underway."
He said a decision on freezing the bank accounts of the "shell companies" is yet to be taken, while refusing to divulge the amount in those accounts. He further said that ED will continue grilling Mukherjee to know whether she has any more bank accounts.
He added, "We have sought the details of these bank accounts from authorities concerned. After going through the accounts, we will decide our next course of action."
Sources told PTI Chatterjee's bank accounts are also being checked, adding that interrogation of both Mukherjee and Chatterjee is underway since Saturday morning. The two of them are in ED custody till August 3.
The news of freezing of Mukherjee's bank accounts comes after three raids at her properties have led to the discovery of over at least Rs 50 crore in cash and jewellery. While over Rs 21 crore in cash were discovered at one of her properties on July 21, over Rs 28 crore in cash and jewewllery were recovered from another property of hers on Thursday.
It was reported on July 23 that Rs 21.20 crore, jewellery worth more than Rs 50 lakh, foreign currency worth Rs 54 lakh, and 22 mobiles were recovered from Mukherjee's property.
ANI on Thursday reported that ED in another raid at one of her properties found Rs 27.9 crores in cash and Rs 4.31 crore-worth of gold and jewellery.
Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested on July 23 for their alleged involvement in the school jobs scam, where genuine candidates were allegedly sidestepped with names that did not appear on the merit list. The ED is probing the money laundering aspect of the scam and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the criminal angle.
When taken to ESI Hospital in Joka area in south Kolkata on Friday, Chatterjee alleged he was a "victim of conspiracy", but TMC has asserted that he was "solely responsible for his fate".
TMC earlier this week sacked Chatterjee from all posts in the party and West Bengal Chief Minister sacked him from the state cabinet. Prior to it, he was the number two in the cabinet and number three in the party after Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. It has been reported that the recovery of cash from Mukherjee's property and viral images of piles of notes played a role in TMC distancing itself from Chatterjee.
(With PTI inputs)